Philadelphia: The Great Experiment is a multi-format historical documentary television film and Internet project produced by History Making Productions that presents the story of Philadelphia, the single most compelling stage for the unfurling and testing of American ideals. William Penn’s city was the first in the world to codify freedom of religion, individual rights, trial by jury, and a democratic assembly as the pillars of a constitution amendable by the people.

In this episode, Philadelphia’s population is decimated by an outbreak of yellow fever in 1793. As the city’s physicians and civic leaders are fight back, they define our modern conception of public health, and establish some of the city’s fundamental institutions that still operate today.